Assessment of consolidation treatments: micro-CT as a potential tool for material’s penetration detection

In the frame of an experimental study focused on structural reinforcement of wood by consolidation, developed during two master's theses in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage (Turin Universiy in collaboration with Centro Conservazione e Restauro La Venaria Reale), the potentials and limits of possible investigation techniques to verify the performances of the treatments, both superficially (optical and electron microscopy) and in terms of penetration (micro-tomography) were evaluated. This paper discusses the main preliminary results, with particular attention to the micro-CT measurements, carried out for detecting the penetration of consolidating materials into the wood. The results appear particularly encouraging in terms of potentialities of the diagnostic technique, taking also into consideration its non-invasiveness and, in perspective, of possible applications to real case studies, boosted in the case of addition of nanocomposites (metal particles) to traditional materials for consolidation.